This is the personal blog of Daniel Broadway. Occasionally, I will post personal blogs, but for the most part, this will be dedicated to my explorations in computer graphics and visual effects.

Friday, May 2, 2008

VFX Tip #2 - Lightwrap: Less is More

Light wrapping is a useful technique for making a blue/greenscreen subject or CG object really set in the background it is being composited into. It creates the illusion of the light from the background plate appear to bleed over the foreground, which helps the element blend naturally with its background.

However, this technique should be used subtly. A common mistake I see often in composites is using too much lightwrap. If you just leave the lightwrap effects at 100% opacity, most of the time, it will be too much. In fact, I try not to go above about 50% opacity. Look at the example below to see what I mean.

Click to Enlarge

Clearly, the default 100% is far too much lightwrap, which looks unnatural, and gives away the composite. However, on the right, the lightwrap is only at 25% and feels far more natural.

1 comment:

Great tip. I had actually never really thought of that. As an up and coming artist / sometimes supervisor [on super low budget shows] I really appreciate all of your fantastic tips and tricks. Your compositing fog tutorial really helped me out a few weeks ago.